Page 88 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 1

ISSUE ONE | JULY/AUG

Distant Relatives

Kilifi Ecolodge & Backpackers

TENDING AND KEEPING THE GREENS GREEN

Chioma Phillips’ conversation with Mwanase Ahmed, General Manager, Distant Relatives.

Distant Relatives is a beautiful, Distant Relatives was founded than protracted and thoughtless
green, leafy hideaway in Kilifi; on three basic principles: uniting labor; and of looking at plants and
perfect for anyone looking for people of all walks of life; animals in all their functions,
time away and for answers to environmental consciousness and rather than treating any area as a
what they can do to transform and care; and community engagement. single product system.”
positively impact their little piece Mwanase says, “We’re not in
of the world. Kilifi is a county at the People this because of tourism or
coast of Kenya, inhabited primarily “We try to unite all our distant hospitality, it’s also got huge
by the Giriama and Chonyi people, relatives by being a place where social and environmental ethics
who are members of the Mijikenda people can come together, feel and drivers behind what we’re
Community. welcome, feel appreciated, made trying to achieve with having this
to feel equal, feel respected space. For example, in Kilifi, we
The name comes from a song, regardless of who you are, where go through periods where for a
but to Distant Relatives’ General you’re from what you look like, month you don’t get water through
Manager, Mwanase Ahmed, “In what you do for a living, what the main taps, so the composting
my opinion, regardless of who language you speak and also have toilets save a huge amount of
you are where you’re from what the opportunity to maybe meet water. If you have to buy that
language you speak there’s a other people from other cultures, water to flush the toilets, it’s a lot
common ground between the backgrounds, genders, religions more expensive, so you just think
human population; whether you’re and learn about each other too.” of something new. Basically every
from Australia and I’m from Kenya They incorporate this philosophy decision made about building or
there is a common ground, we’re even into the way they train the planting or whatever is always
all relatives somehow regardless staff in how to handle their guests, trying to think, ‘how can we make
of the distance between us.” helping them to overcome long- a positive impact?’”
Talking about the approach that standing stereotypes in order to
the founders and owners have offer any guest the same level and To give you a quick look at the
chosen to take, she had this to say, quality of service throughout. measures that Distant Relatives
“Within any country, we have a lot has in place:
to do to try and see how we can Environment
redistribute the wealth, if we look According to its website, Their glasses are made from
at the amount of wastage, there’s Distant Relatives was ‘born a recycled bottles which are cut in
room to uplift our own people as permaculturalist’. Permaculture, half, the tops of these bottles are
well. Here, we have very low profit according to Bill Mollison, the the lampshades in the garden.
margins in our business, we’re not founder of the Permaculture They source the bottles from the
like many hotels that we make a movement, “is a philosophy local community as well as hotels
lot off of all of the services. We of working with, rather than and restaurants.
want a lot of the income to go against nature; of protracted and
back into our community. Which is thoughtful observation rather They build the guest bandas (huts)
a very not-popular model.” in the traditional Giriama mud style,

88 HEALING - RESTORING - REBIRTHING - AFRICA